HBO’s highly anticipated adaptation of Naughty Dog and Sony’s groundbreaking video game The Last of Us is finally here. The video game was lauded as GOAT since its release in 2013 earning unanimous praise and getting two remasters and, a not so beloved, sequel. With fans hyped since the casting of Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, as Joel and Ellie, everyone’s been wondering how true it will stick to the source material.
We’re introduced to the world of The Last of Us through the eyes of Sarah (Nico Parker) Joel’s daughter that has a compassionate quality to her. What starts as an idyllic day unravels into chaos and madness as we see the fungal virus take a stranglehold of the citizens of Austin, Texas. Joel and his brother Tommy (Gabriel Luna) arrive in time to stave off an attack from Nana, the elderly infirmed neighbor, leading to a harrowing escape as our protagonists are engulfed in pandemonium. Just as the audience is endeared to Sarah the rug is pulled from under us as she and Joel are heinously gunned down by an overzealous soldier and she passes away in his arms.
This is only the first thirty minutes y’all.
Fast forward twenty years later and Joel is a broken man with no real purpose except as just another cog in the Boston quarantine zone doing menial jobs. As survivors are burning bodies of the dead one of the workers sees the body of a child and hesitates, fumbling over her words and stammering she taps Joel for help. Without hesitation Joel hefts the body and tosses it into the pyre.
The quarantine zone looks like it is lifted from Alfonso Cuaron’s classic Children of Men; it’s unforgiving, drab, dangerous and grimy where the citizens have nowhere else to turn to and are trying to eke out an existence. Here we meet Tess (Anna Torv) Joel’s partner and romantic interest as they unknowingly become intertwined into the Fireflies latest mission, transporting valuable cargo out of the QZ: Ellie. Who, when we meet her, is a fiery and robust ball of energy, a complete 180 of Sarah and someone Joel wants absolutely nothing to do with.
Pascal’s rendition of Joel deserves high praise as you see two different sides of the persona, going from a family man to a shell that’s been grinded down to nub by the world at large. Same with Ramsey. Her Ellie is someone who was born to an uncompassionate and cruel world where she had to mature quickly and who’s defenses are always up. In a way these two characters belong with each other, both sides of the same coin. In the coming weeks it will be a pleasure to see their relationship grow and evolve.
Fans of the video game series will recognize the major story beats matching up the thrilling exodus from Austin almost shot-for-shot. So far, we’ve only seen the infected on-screen with snippets of the full blown Cordyceps but make no mistake these mutants are grim, kind of like the running zombies from Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later but more ferocious and aggressive.
The Last of Us is not so much a story about the cruelty of man and Cordycep created mutants, but more so a tale of survival and finding the eroded humanity that’s calloused over. Joel and Ellie will encounter wondrous and terrifying things on their journey that will irrevocably change them. Prestige television does not get any better than this.
Seeing how E3 died (then was recently resurrected by the ESA for live and digital action in 2023) and there were only four true video game “press conferences” this year — PlayStation’s State of Play, Geoff Keighley’s Summer Game Fest, IGN’s Summer of Gaming, and, of course, the Xbox/Bethesda Showcase — I didn’t think I’d bother covering any gaming stuff this June.
I mean… why bother?
But, thanks to the Video Game Trooper himself, fellow GHGer Patrick Obloy (and his wife, Sarah, for not being able to attend *insert cry laugh emoji*), your boy’s enthusiasm for the next year (or three) in gaming has certainly leveled up with a fun stay yesterday at the Xbox Fan Fest. But, no Nintendo Direct from the godfathers of this whole digital showcase mess?!?? Wild.
Regardless, here are my personal top video game reveals/trailers of the summer “E3” season:
25. MINECRAFT LEGENDS (Mojang Studios/Xbox Game Studios – Xbox Series, Xbox One, PC – 2023) – I’m not a Minecraft guy. That said, you can’t disrespect a franchise that Microsoft paid 2.5 billion for– with excitement from plenty of folks at Fan Fest. Legends is a real time strategy spin-off, too.
24. ARK 2 (Studio Wildcard – Xbox Series, PC – 2023) – This one is intriguing as hell. Of course the Vin Diesel appearance got a chuckle or two from the Fan Fest audience! Otherwise, Ark 2 soars with impressive Unreal 5 dino-combat. Not sure I have the patience for craft-survival (I barely touched that element in one of my fav games of all time, Fallout 4), but everything else looks fun. We’ll see.
23. EREBAN: SHADOW LEGACY (Baby Riot Games/Raw Fury – Xbox Series, PC – 2023) – Sometimes, going the stealth route can be a true kick in the pants. Thankfully Microsoft’s friends over at Baby Riot recognize this and make our titular hero the shadow! Toss in some stellar cell-shaded, robo-apocalyptic vibes and crisp, cyber-cut-em-up combat and this could wind up one of next year’s dopest dark horses.
22. ALIENS: DARK DESCENT (Tindalos Interactive/Focus Interactive/20th Century Studios – PS5, PS4, Xbox Series, Xbox One, PC – 2023) – Since it’s an Aliens game and not an Alien one, expect more James Cameron-spun action. Pulse rifles and smart guns return and have motion-trackers, and — thank god! — because there will be far larger hordes of Xenomorphs. Maybe the game isn’t over for the Alien series, man.
21. FLINTLOCK: THE SIEGE OF DAWN (A44 Games/Kepler Interactive – PS5, PS4, Xbox Series, Xbox One, PC – 2023) – Ashen was a major hit in 2018 and this is that team’s follow-up. It looks dope. Fans of Assassin’s Creed Origins and the Horizon series shouldn’t shy away from this potential God Butcher.
20. FORT SOLIS (Fallen Leaf Studios – PC – N/A) – SO. MUCH. SCI-FI. SURVIVAL HORROR. But this one caught attention at Summer Game Fest due to its surprising star power in Troy Baker and Roger Clark. If they believe in Fallen Leaf Studios who pitched this title as sort of a “Dead Space meets Moon“, why shouldn’t we?
19. THE CALLISTO PROTOCOL (Striking Distance Studios/KRAFTON – PS5, PS4, Xbox Series, Xbox One, PC – December 2, 2022) – Speaking of…. yes, sci-fi survival horror, and, oh yeah, Dead Space, former head of that famed EA series, Glen Schofield, has a new project and it’s a hyper-ambitious one. Expect tons of mystery swirling Jupiter’s moon inhabitants and an insanely deep gore system that wound up a 2-year development process. Wild.
18. DNF DUEL (Nexon/Arc System Works – PS5, PS4, PC – June 28, 2022) – Since IGN’s Summer of Gaming focuses in on games that fly under the radar, maybe you missed that Arc System Works moves faster than imagined! While we’re still not done with Guilty Gear Strive (right?), this pret-ty similar anime brawler pops in as quite the surprise. While I never heard of the 16-year Dungeon and Fighter RPG series (again, right?), the Awakening signatures and steampunky stage designs bring back more of that ASW GG goodness.
17. FORZA HORIZON 5: HOT WHEELS (Playground Games/Xbox Game Studios – July 19, 2022) – Forza Horizon 5 was my GOTY last year and it gets the delightful Hot Wheels DLC treatment from FH3. Go live your life a quarter mile at a time.
16. WO LONG: FALLEN DESTINY (Team Ninja/Koei Tecmo – Xbox Series, PC – 2023) – The only thing keeping Wo Long lower on this list is how damn hard Nioh was. Tecmo’s samurai adventures were unfair as it is, and then you add Bloodborne producer Masaaki Yamajiwa. Eh. And I couldn’t have been the only one at Fan Fest initially confusing this one with the 16th Century Chinese monkey-warrior RPG adventure, Black Myth: Wukong, right?
15. TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: SHREDDER’S REVENGE (Tribute Games/Limited Run Games – PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC – June 16, 2022) – Out this week on digital! Coming later this year to all consoles in the physical form. It’s essentially a tribute sequel to 87 Arcade game and Turtles in Time, hence the dev’s namesake, with special attacks, personality taunts, and the classic overexaggerated 80s cartoon animation style. Throw in the Wu’s Raekwon & Ghostface on the soundtrack, and I’m ordering my pasticcio sardine pizza right now.
14. A PLAGUE TALE: REQUIEM (Focus Ent/Asobo Studio – PS5, Xbox Series, Nintendo Switch, PC – 2022) – It’s the follow-up to the sickly-overlooked A Plague Tale: Innocence, with even more of the rats the title is known for. But our bro ‘n sis protagonists will sneak around a more vibrant colony of France, exploring under more optimistic measures than in their last quest.
13. HOLLOW KNIGHT: SILKSONG (Team Cherry – Xbox Series, PC – 2023) – Hunt! Survive! Vanquish! This will wind up the little game that could. Since the team from Ori is taking a break, this metroidvania is sure to fill all those voids missing in your platforming life.
12. GOTHAM KNIGHTS (WB Games Montreal/WBIE – PS5, Xbox Series, PC – October 25, 2022) – Don’t worry; the game has more or less nothing to do with the shitty-looking CW show. Another smart move by WB Games: the newest trailer focuses on Nightwing, arguably the biggest fan favorite of Batman’s fearless foursome. Arkam Origins had super awesome boss battles, so I wouldn’t count this one out yet.
11. MARVEL’S MIDNIGHT SUNS (Firaxis Games/2K Interactive – PS5, PS4, Xbox Series, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC – October 7, 2022) – Spidey winds up on the Xbox, after all! Thankfully, this Marvel title is exclusive-free and coming out this year. Doesn’t hurt that Firaxis is among the best devs in the strategy atmosphere. There’s even a “Fire Emblem: Three Houses” feel to The Abbey — a fully explorable hub where your created Hunter can craft items and hang out with all the other Super Friends in between your intense, card-based combat missions.
10. THE LAST OF US, PART 1 REMAKE (Naughty Dog/Sony Interactive – PS5 – September 2, 2022) – If you never played the original on PS3 or PS4, there’s no better time than now. I’m legally restricted from saying any more.
9. REDFALL (Arkane Austin/Bethesda Softworks – Xbox Series, PC – 2023) – This looks like the most fun game of the showcase. And if you played Deathloop, then there should be zero doubt in Arkane’s shoot-to-thrill capabilities despite years of shadowy stealth in Dishonored.
8. OVERWATCH 2 (Blizzard Entertainment – PS5, PS4, Xbox Series, Xbox One, PC – October 4, 2022) – The once biggest game in the world is getting a sequel 6.5 years later (at least in “early access”0, and — despite not being an Overwatch fan per se — I couldn’t help but be blown away by this trailer. PVP is also F2P, so why not download it?
7. CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE II (Infinity Ward/Activision – PS5, PS4, Xbox Series, Xbox One, PC – October 28, 2022) – Since there are no good G.I. Joe video games for modern consoles, just buy this one and pretend that shit got real serious for Duke, Lady Jaye, Stalker, Tunnel Rat and pals. Modern Warfare has always been CoD’s bread ‘n butter, and Infinity Ward’s track record is stellar despite the obvious franchise fatigue. LFG.
https://youtu.be/r72GP1PIZa0
6. FINAL FANTASY XVI (Creative Business Unit III/Square Enix – PS5 – Summer 2023) – Devil May Cry 5 designer is working as combat designer for this game. Need I say more? Nope. Just watch this beauty…
5. FORZA MOTORSPORT (Turn 10/Xbox Game Studios – Xbox Series, PC – Spring 2023) – If this was a selfish list, this would be #2, but we still have to wait a bit for before Turn 10 gears this one up for Spring. Microsoft Flight Simulator aside, this was arguably the most visually striking game at the Xbox Showcase, and spotlighting the F1 popularity boom was a brilliant move, too. Every race receives the dynamic day/night/weather treatment and everything in the game has real-time raytracing. Vroom.
4. DIABLO IV (Blizzard Entertainment – PS5, PS4, Xbox Series, Xbox One, PC – 2023) – I definitely popped for this one. Despite not closing the deal just yet with Blizzard, Xbox didn’t hesitate to deep dive in this one, especially with old friend Rod Ferguson at the helm. As a longtime Gears guy, there’s no lack of faith in Diablo 4 on my end. The Necromancer is a much-welcomed fifth class, environments are super pleasing for the isometric eye, combat feels heavier than ever, and there are 150 dungeons, any of which you can play solo or with/against friends on the couch or online, including crossplay.
3. STREET FIGHTER 6 (Capcom – PS5, PS4, Xbox Series, PC – 2023) – With Capcom still supporting Street Fighter V as of this article, the launch of another Street Fighter comes as a bit of a surprise. Even more stirring, however, are the features! There’s Real Time Commentary (although, I can’t say I’m a fan of the English play-by-play by Jeremy “Vicious” Lopez in the new trailer; maybe it’s because I don’t watch enough eSports?).
There’s an all-new Game Face Feature, which allows players to alter their fighter’s facial animations during the match-up screen. Capcom also hip-tosses in the option to battle with the classic 6-button control layout or a modern Smash Bros-inspired set-up with special moves being executed by the simple press of a button and directional pad. But above all else is the startling inclusion of a free roam single player mode called World Tour.
2. RESIDENT EVIL 4 REMAKE (Capcom – PS5, Xbox Series, PC – March 24, 2023) – If it wasn’t a remake this would be #1. While far from the scariest, Res 4 is arguably the best Resident Evil game and a remake of it even has this lukewarm R.E. fan shaking in mah boots. I’m def all for more action than the survival horror of the first two games– which arguably needed more of the remake treatment than this one. Still, there’s no sleeping on one of the 2023’s early frontrunners for GOTY.
1. STARFIELD (Bethesda Game Studios/Softworks – Xbox Series, PC – 2023) – As we can see from today’s responses that your mileage may vary. How much do you love No Man’s Sky? Do you own an Xbox Series X/S or plan to? Do you love Fallout? Diehard Elder Scrolls fan? Miss the humor of The Outer Worlds? Overlooking the fact that we barely saw 1% of everything that God Howard and company have in store for us with Starfield?
Wild, and maybe it’s because I was with a bunch of like-minded Xbox/Bethesda diehards at Fan Fest yesterday, but Bethesda’s Starfield gameplay reveal and trailer was among the very best E3 presentations I’ve ever seen: 1.) Ship, base and crew creation; yes, you can create your own Razor Crest-type ship and fly it and get into intergalactic dogfights, 2.) Detailed character creation and skill system; yes, you can pretty much make your own Han Solo, Mando or Bo-Katan, 3.) Intense combat; yes, you can blow pirates up with their own jetpack, 4.) Starfield has over 100 galaxies to explore and 1000 (!!) planets to scan, battle, and takeover. GEESH.
We’re halfway through 2021, and some of us lucky enough to get our hands on next-gen consoles have been eager to see the machines put to proper use and push new boundaries of how games look, feel, sound and play. I remember watching the reveal trailer for Insomniac Games’ Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart almost a year ago (to this day) followed by the extended gameplay demo some months after, and thinking to myself that there would be no way the final game would match the visual splendor on display– akin to animated movies from the likes of Pixar and Dreamworks…
A nagging feeling also hit me that the dimensional rifts shown to instantly transport you between vast and different worlds were put into the game as a forced showcase of the much-hyped SSD drive of the PS5. I’m surprised and happy to say I was wrong: they play neatly right into the story and gameplay elements in Rift Apart. Having now rolled credits on this inter-dimensional roller-coaster adventure and snagged the Platinum Trophy in the process — on Rebel Agent difficulty in Performance RT — I’d love to share the experience I had in the approximately 14-16 hours it took me to finish the game (with added 2-3 hours for the Platinum).
Having no prior knowledge of the events from any of the previous games in the series, I caught up by watching a short recap on YouTube just in case I had missed some crucial information. From here on the story/gameplay elements were easy to get into even for a new player like myself.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9p_gg9UW9k4
While I won’t detail the story of Rift Apart to avoid any spoilers, the initial plot follows the duo of a furry Lombax named Ratchet and his robot companion, Clank. Their mission is to try and stop the series primary antagonist Dr. Nefarious (always an evil doctor, isn’t it?) as he tries to acquire a powerful dimensional-warping weapon called the Dimensionator so that he can claim the title of emperor of the universe. Sounds easy enough? Ratchet & Clank are joined by a new cast of female counterparts named Rivet and Kit (as well as reoccurring fan favorites) that make up an excellent ensemble of wacky and charming characters with each their own personality traits and flaws.
I also have to commend the stellar voice-over performances as well as superb animation and design that went into making the characters come alive on the screen. It really is a sight to behold with the fur and ray-traced eyes of Ratchet and Rivet standing out. In-game models also have squash and stretch applied to them when jumping, dashing, or getting shot which gives them a cartoonish look and feel previously mostly seen in animation movies.
When I first set foot in the metropolis of Corson V at the start of the game, all my senses were instantly bombarded by a beautiful and vast array of colors, flashing lights, billboards, and the busy traffic of space shuttles.. like something straight out of The Fifth Element. This same feeling followed me throughout the game as I hopped from planet to planet, each carefully crafted in great detail with lots of variation ranging from intergalactic cities to lush jungle and underwater worlds. Traveling between these locations is instant with no loading screen other than a short in-game cut-scene working as a transition to show you arriving at your location by spaceship.
Some of the transitions and cut-scenes in the game were done so well I found myself not being able to tell when a scene had ended and gameplay had started. You alter between playing as Ratchet and Rivet depending on which planet you go to but sadly there is no difference in how you play them, they have the same moves and weapons, a missed opportunity in my opinion.
No action game is complete without a wide array of enemies (aka cannon fodder) to shoot in the face. Some of these includes a great variation of robots, critters, mechanical pirates, space crocodiles (think Bebop and Rocksteady from TMNT), and blob-like creatures (Slimer from Ghostbusters says hi) the list goes on. They are all expertly animated; and during one fight with a grunthor, I ran behind him only for the grunthor to look between his legs to see where I went with a confused expression on his face, safe to assume it put a huge smile on my face. But what’s the point of having enemies if you can’t murder them in hilarious ways? This brings me to the most fun part of the whole game, the insane arsenal!
There are 20 wacky weapons in all, with the option to unlock special versions of them in NG+. My personal favorites were the trusty powerful shotgun called the Enforcer, the Pixelizer — which turns enemies into retro versions with added visual and sound effects, the Topiary Sprinkler covers targets in plants, freezing them into place, and lastly, Mr. Fungi fires a pod that turns into small companion funguses that attack and distract enemies while you figure out which one is gonna get it next. There are bigger and better weapons as well, with massive upgrade trees that could give you a good reason for a second play-through. With lots of weapons for everyone to find a favorite, just watching how each weapon affects their targets is quite the joy. Also, do yourself a favor and watch the previews of every weapon on offer for some hilarious commentary from Claptrap’s evil brother Zurkon Jr, you won’t regret it.
Lest we not forget, the Adaptive Triggers add secondary functions to weapons by the way of half and full press of the triggers. This seems to be the way games, in general, will handle adaptive triggers going forward and is a nice and intuitive way to solve design challenges from previous generations. Haptic feedback and 3D audio also add layers of immersion that make you feel your surroundings. Each footstep creates a small thump and when using the boost skate the left and right side of the controller gives off a slight rumble to match the skating, and a far away disco blasting music rumbles to the beat; try standing right outside the entrance to the disco in Corson V and slowly turn your camera 360 degrees around. Pretty neat, no?
The game also features side-quests, challenges, puzzles, and collectibles to break up the pacing between progressing the story. You can test your combat skills and take on varying challenges in the battle arena with a multitude of rewards that you can farm, perfect for when you need some extra raritatium or bolts to spend on your weapons. A visit to Zurkie’s bar where the arena resides is well worth it just so you can observe the patrons go about their business. Pocket dimensions act as jumping and platforming puzzles to earn some armor pieces that have stat bonuses which come in handy when you want to spice up your looks or want some added protection, XP boosts, etc.
Then there is Clank’s puzzle portions which reminded me of the shrines in Zelda: Breath of the Wild where you have to move and manage around objects with special attributes to unlock the several stages of the puzzle. Next up we have a cute little spider robot named Glitch that has to hack her way through obstacles and enemies as means to gain access to door panels or other electronic devices. As for collectibles, most of them were fairly easy to obtain just by using the map or keeping your eyes peeled for suspicious objects and paths that could lead you to them. The rewards for these collectibles range from armor sets, gadget skins, new game options, and photo mode among others.
The game was not without its issues and design flaws. During my play-through I experienced one game crash where I had to restart the game, a dialogue with an NPC was triggered twice, my character would sometimes get stuck in world objects or end up outside the play area, weapons suddenly would not fire and automatically switch to another weapon while still holding the previous one in your hands. But I’m happy that the few bugs experienced seem to have been fixed in a recent patch. As impressive as the technology behind the yellow teleporting rifts is, I found that I got slightly disoriented by the camera angle once you entered the other side.
My least favorite parts of the game were riding the slug or flying Trudi the dragon because of how clunky and unresponsive their controls were and how easy it was to crash into a wall and have to respawn at the last checkpoint. Something has to be said about the performance of the game which was nothing but flawless from start to finish. I didn’t experience one stutter, slowdown, or framerate drop — quite a feat when you consider the insane amount of particles, projectiles, explosions, objects, and other things on the screen at the same time.
All in all, I had a blast playing Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart. It felt like playing a cartoon movie with well-written characters, as the Rivet and Kit backstory were epecially good. The game looks truly spectacular with visuals standing out in astonishing quality especially in HDR on an OLED display. In hindsight I would have played at a higher difficulty, having completed the game without dying from enemies more than a couple of times. There have been “GOTY contender” mentions already. And so far it is high up on my list with other games like Returnal, It Takes Two, and Resident Evil Village. We still have 6 more months to go but if anything is close to the fun I had playing Rift Apart then we’re all in for a hell of a year. 4.75/5 Whiskeys.
After a year off, the gaming world is gearing up for another E3. Nature is healing. Myke and Travis are joined by returning guests Artez, Jamison, and newcomer Matt Robb to rundown the entire schedule of what has been announced for E3 2021…
We get into what we know already, what we’re hoping to see, and what some companies need to show us in order to win us back. Myke also goes over his initial Biomutant thoughts, the demo for the upcoming Scarlet Nexus, and the crew spout off on extended play for Far Cry 6 and Horizon Forbidden West!
Godfall made me feel a lot of things. Engaged, frustrated. OP, unfinished. Aggressive, in tears (I’ll explain later). There are things to praise as well as many, many legit reasons to be letdown. From the gameplay trailers, this game caught my eye with its fluid and in your face combat, beautiful setting and loot. So much loot. Counterplay Games is made up of people who have worked on a greatest hits of modern gaming– Horizon: Zero Dawn, God of War, Gears of War 5 and Diablo 3, just to name a few. I was in good hands, it seemed…
The combat in Godfall is a lot of fun. With an arsenal composed of longswords, dual blades, warhammers, polearms and more you cut through the hordes ravaging the world. You can combo light and heavy attacks while building up a technique meter to unleash devastating and unique to the weapon class attacks. The shield is ripped straight from God of War, fanning open at the press of a button for either a block or a parry, as is the Archon Fury (Spartan Rage) mode which gives you bonuses depending on the Valorplate you choose. Valorplates are very cool looking sets of armor that provide the player with different skills and stat benefits one can use to tinker and build.
Enemies drop tons of loot for you to min/max to your heart’s desire– enough drops where I experienced stutters in gameplay even on performance mode. There is a large skill tree to spend points in as you level up. Bosses range from cheap and annoying to awesome and memorable. The game is too easy on normal; if you die during a boss fight you spawn right back with full health and max potions to continue chipping away at the enemy right where you left off. Their health stays at wherever you got them down to (making it super easy to cheese bosses). So you never really lose progress. Ranged enemies can be a pain to deal with, as some are ranged attackers, some heal or buff their allies in battle. Lots of them teleport around the battlefield with what seems like little to no cooldown making them difficult to deal with.
While Red Dead Redemption 2 and God of War are the only two games in recent memory I can remember that made me emotional. Godfall never seemed like one of those games, so I didn’t pay attention too much to the narrative. So many codexes. If there’s something I wish games would do more is show, don’t tell. Godfall is all pretty cutscenes followed by “if you want to know more about anything you need to read”. You’re a dude named Orin with an evil brother, Macros, that thinks he’s a God. Some floating rock-face lady wants you to beat him up to save the world. Alright.
Questing has you traveling through different elemental realms to achieve this. I hope you like collecting sigils to progress to the next area, because you’re going to do a lot of that. Sigils can be obtained by completing hunts, repeatable side quests. I found these to be borderline obnoxious, as by later game you have to collect sigils for each realm to continue the main story. This is where I have to talk about the end of the game — WITHOUT SPOILERS — and why I’m glad I didn’t care about the story in it. Upon defeating the end boss and while watching the beautiful cinematic, the game crashed. Having loaded it up quickly I was met by the endgame and the rewards for the fight. I guess I’m happy that I got the loot from it but it half-ass feels like I didn’t finish the game.
Now for the bad news: Games like this should be nowhere near $70. It is obviously rushed out to meet the PS5 launch, especially since I encountered a large amount of bugs.
Gear upgrades wouldn’t take, meaning it felt useless to do unless I wanted to wait for a patch. Godfall ran great, until they did release a patch that seemed to make it lag even on performance mode.
The Valorplate bonuses are not great enough to really make you want any of them, apart from looks. I only used two throughout the game, and truly only have my eye on one more only needing components found in the endgame.
Archons Furies only have two types, shockwave with buffs and summons making them helpful but boring. The build-up to use a technique is just slightly too long that you can’t line it up easily at the end of a combo.
I’ll reiterate that the game crashed during the final cutscene causing me to laugh so hard I cried. There is no matchmaking and at the time of this review I have not tried multiplayer. This is a $40 game that is carried in whole by its exciting combat. We were told there were four realms but there are only three. We were told there would be fun synergies with the Valorplates. We were told they would all look and play differently.
Godfall has potential to be an over the shoulder Diablo/God of War but it’s numerous shortcomings and bland story get in the way. Now we wait to see what Counterplay Games does. Do they pull a Hello Games and rework the things that anger us or do they let it die? 2.5/5 Bibles.
Lord knows the world needs heroes. Sackboy.. is that hero. Sackboy: A Big Adventure is my surprise hit of 2020, a seemingly gentle (yet later relatively vicious) platformer with a unique hand-crafted aesthetic. I never played Yoshi’s Woolly or Crafted World‘s so I can’t exactly compare the two, but this Big Adventure looks downright splendid on the PlayStation 5. Every inch of Sackboy‘s fabric environment is made out of canvas, wool, satin, and googly cardboard “Funhouse” pop-ups. Kids will love the look of Sumo Digital’s off-shoot follow-up to Little Big Planet, and adults will too, until they get to end of world two, when things get halfway-hard like a difficulty meshing of Rayman and Cuphead…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSxwhCkpTgs&t=1s
While Sony’s Sackboy is also available on PS4, the game plays definitively on the PS5, due to its high level 3D design, and, more importantly, utilization of the DualSense motion controllers. As mentioned on the last episode of the Geekdom Gamescast, we dug the way Astro’s Playroom set the stage for this new generation of gaming with the DualSense. Sackboy doesn’t quite give us the overhauled experience with the new pad like Astro, but does give you some unique and immersive game-playing surprises every now and then. While I did expect more “haptic feedback” with the game, it’s understandable that Sumo Digital’s development exceeded their brief use with PlayStation’s latest controller.
Getting back to challenge, the game is absolutely not the Soulsborne-level nightmare of Cuphead, but it’s far from a cakewalk once you get to the end of the second world. Until then, Sackboy was the platformer I’ve wanted for the new gen, a relaxed departure from the other high-octane games in my current PS5 rotation: COD:BO Cold War, NBA 2K21, Spider-Man: Miles Morales, and the sweatier-palm platformer thus far, Astro’s Playroom; but I do see these two swapping in difficulty the further I get — and the more my little knitted Baby Groot-level cutie perishes.
Where is Richard Zom-Zom?
The challenge is incidental, though; the floaty jumps and awkward, yet charming character animations are what make the game tough past the first world– when I started to die, or die often, I had more blame on myself for pressing the wrong button, or being impatient, or just getting pissed at Lil’ Sacks for not quite jumping high enough when I held down X; while not a gameplay wrecker, our hero is less responsive than Mario is in his own 3D adventures. That’s for sure.
But what this platformer does best of all is keep the head boppin’. A Big Adventure has so much funk, so much so that even Kool & The Gang‘s “Jungle Boogie” and Bruno Mars‘ “Uptown Funk” are remixed into the soundtrack! Even more surprisingly are tunes from David Bowie and Britney Spears. But I’ll leave the song choices to your imagination. Even without the hits, Sackboy‘s hypnotic score is top-notch. And once you get into the groove, the amalgamation of hot tracks and dope platforming offers some superior replayability. Even better, you can hope on with up to 3 other peeps couch co-op, although we know that it may be a while before most of you get to test that experience out, unless, of course, you have 2-3 tiny ones of your own.
These bruhs stay chillin.
Throw in a cute story with some solid voice acting, great outfit customization (my two fav get-ups right now are a “Rey Mysackboio” a.k.a luchador costume and a totem demon; you can also dress up as a glamour rock queen and an Elvis impersonator, among countless mix-and-match costume options), nifty weapons (the boomerang in particular is trusty AF), somewhat challenging but hardly toss-your-DualSense-into-the-QLED boss fights, hidden bonus stages, superbly designed levels, and Sackboy: A Big Adventure — despite its sometimes slippery mechanics and strange, often frustrating platforming angles — should be an auto launch-window purchase for your giant new shiny PS modem. 4/5 Bibles.
